Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 3 (ANI): Domestic equity markets ended sharply higher on Monday, supported by a steep fall in crude oil prices, renewed foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows and strength in the rupee, while investors remained focused on the upcoming RBI monetary policy meeting.

The Nifty 50 closed at 24,774.30, up 390.70 points or 1.60 per cent, while the BSE Sensex settled at 78,639.03, gaining 544.39 points or 0.70 per cent.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments said the decline in crude oil prices amid expectations of renewed dialogue between the United States and Iran lifted investor sentiment by easing concerns over inflation and corporate earnings.

'The decline in crude oil prices, driven by expectations of renewed dialogue between the U.S. and Iran, provided relief to markets by easing concerns over inflation and corporate earnings. Market sentiment was further supported by a rebound in FII inflows and a strengthening rupee, although elevated U.S. bond yields remain a key risk to the sustainability of foreign flows into emerging markets,' Nair said.

Among sectoral indices on the NSE, most sectors ended in positive territory. Nifty IT emerged as the top gainer, rising 2.68 per cent, followed by Nifty FMCG, which gained 1.72 per cent. Nifty Metal advanced 1.55 per cent, Nifty Auto rose 1.48 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank gained 1.41 per cent, Nifty Consumer Durables climbed 1.39 per cent, Nifty Oil & Gas added 0.97 per cent, and Nifty Pharma ended 0.49 per cent higher. Nifty Media was the only major sectoral index to close in the red, falling more than 3 per cent.

Nair said the ongoing first-quarter earnings season has been better than expected, with small-cap companies outperforming their larger peers.

'The Q1FY27 earnings season continues to progress ahead of expectations, with small-cap companies emerging as the strongest performers relative to large- and mid-cap peers. Investors will closely watch the upcoming RBI policy meeting for commentary on inflation risks, liquidity conditions, and the future policy trajectory, although interest rates are widely expected to remain unchanged,' he added.

Supporting market sentiment, Brent crude oil prices fell more than 4 per cent to USD 83.8 per barrel amid easing geopolitical tensions. The Indian rupee was trading at Rs 95.33 per US dollar at the time of filing this report.

Other Asian markets ended on a mixed note. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.13 per cent to close at 63,643, South Korea's KOSPI declined more than 5 per cent to 6,257, and Singapore's Straits Times slipped 0.29 per cent to 5,612. In contrast, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.54 per cent to close at 26,026. (ANI)